Park Hyatt Sydney: Living Vicariously through “Guest of Honor” Benefit

Many of you know that my husband obtained Hyatt Diamond status in 2015 with the help of yours truly (via simple match, no stays required). It was a total fluke which is unlikely to ever be repeated again. We’ve spent a good bit of money/points on Hyatt stays due to this interesting development, but I have no regrets. It’s been fun!

And even though we didn’t get a chance to stay at the fanciest Hyatt properties, I’ve helped one of my readers to do so via “Hyatt guest of honor” benefit. I won’t go into details, you can view them here But here is what you can expect if you have a friend with Diamond status, who is willing to book your stay from his/her account:

The best room available upon arrival, excluding suites

A special welcome amenity

Exclusive access to the Regency Club® or Grand Club® lounge, including complimentary breakfast

An upgrade to premium Wi-Fi where available

4 p.m. late checkout

To me, the highlighted benefits are the most valuable ones, especially the free food. Hyatt breakfasts are magnificent, and you will be forever ruined for Holiday Inn Express, I guarantee it.

Alas, we won’t be going there anytime soon, but this would be the next best thing. In order to book his stay, my reader had to first transfer 30,000 Hyatt points to my husband’s account. There was one problem. They needed to stay in Hyatt just 10 days from the time I got the email, so there wasn’t any time to waste.

There was another issue. I had to fill out points combining request form with our address and personal information and forward it to the reader. Hmm… I asked him if he was a serial killer and he told me he is not. That was good enough for me. People tend to be extremely honest on the internet. In all seriousness, this reader and I had regular communication over the last year or so, and I had no reason to believe that he was grooming me to be his next victim. 🙂

Besides, he gave me the option of filling out all the information without him seeing any of it. If you gift “guest of honor” perk, you will also have to add your credit card number to the reservation unless your friend gives you his/hers. So my point is, be aware of the implications if you choose to go this route.

We sent the transfer request and the points were in my husband’s account 4 days later. I went ahead and called to book the stay and to my surprise, I was told that my husband would have to do it since it’s his account. Say what? I did HUCA (hang up call again), and the next Hyatt rep had no issue with booking the award stay. All set! I asked the reader to send me some photos of his stay and he was kind enough to do it. Apparently, Park Hyatt Sydney is magnificent.

Living it up in Sydney

My reader said it was an amazing stay and totally worth 30,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points he transferred to Hyatt. I’m inclined to agree. The regular rooms at this hotel go for around $1000 per night or more, and that doesn’t even include the perks he got from Diamond status.

Even though they would never pay that kind of money, parting with $300 (cash equivalent of 30,000 UR points) is doable even for a family on a budget. And these guys definitely don’t fall into “one-percenter” category. Honestly, I would do the same thing. I’m very much a cheapskate, but I also believe in splurging now and again. And if you are gonna splurge, this is the place to do it. Just look at the photos:

An upgraded City Harbour Deluxe room with the view (and what a view!)

Fancy tub

Hmm, is it a room or a suite?

The baby won’t remember any of it, but parents will

Complimentary toy is a nice touch

Happy wife = happy life

This reader thanked me profusely for using our Diamond status to book his stay, but I feel like I’m the one who should be thanking him. No, really! I got to live vicariously through his adventure, so in a way, it was a treat for me as well.

How you can stay at Park Hyatt Sydney or any other fancy Hyatt property

First of all, be aware that the rooms at this hotel have a maximum occupancy of 3. So if you have a large family, the juice may not be worth the squeeze. The least “painful” way to get two nights at this property is via signing up for Hyatt co-branded credit card. Here is direct non-affiliate application link.

You will have to swallow $75 annual fee, but it’s definitely worth it to save 60,000 Hyatt points. Apply in your spouse’s name, and you will have 4 nights at a property where rooms go for $1,000 per night. Can’t beat that. You are not eligible for the sign-up bonus if you’ve previously received it within the last 24 months. This card is NOT subject to 5/24 rule (for now).

Upcoming changes to Hyatt program and a possible match opportunity

Starting March 1st, Hyatt Gold Passport will become World of Hyatt (cue ridiculous status tier names). Many blogs have covered the changes already, so I won’t repeat them. My husband’s Diamond status will expire at the end of the month, and we made no attempts to re-qualify via stays.

Doing mattress runs didn’t even enter my mind. While Diamond status has been very good to us, the math just doesn’t make sense. Fortunately, due to upcoming changes, it looks like we will have 4 Club Lounge upgrade certificates that will expire in February of 2018. I plan to use at least one of those certificates at Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa

I like the food they serve at the lounge, and the savings on even a two-night stay can be substantial. This resort isn’t cheap on points, but my whole family loves it, and getting free breakfast and dinner (plus snacks and evening desserts) makes it much more palatable for our budget.

Few months ago I matched my husband to MLife Platinum just for the heck of it (thanks to his current Hyatt Diamond status). We have no use for it, but you never know if it may come in handy in the future. So my advice is to just go ahead and do it while you still can. Who knows, you may get those 4 Club Lounge certificates after all. Winning?

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Well, that would be nice if the status match worked. I’ll give it a try but not get my hopes up too much. I wonder if it does work, how the four certificates will work. My husband has a business trip coming up in April at the Hyatt Regency in Savannah and I’m hoping to tag along. The reservation is already booked though. It sure would be nice to apply one of the certificates!

@Jennifer It’s my understanding that these certificates have to be redeemed at the time of reservation. Of course, you can always cancel your current one and rebook it. It’s not 100% clear to me whether these certs will be valid on annual renewal certificates from Hyatt credit card. I don’t believe so, though all other reservations (via cash or points) should qualify. We’ll have more information once they are deposited into accounts. I’m curious myself how the process will work.
You may want to check out this page on Explorist tier status https://goldpassport.hyatt.com/content/world/en/faqs.html
But I definitely think you should match to Mlife Gold right now. This loophole may not work much longer, and it doesn’t cost a cent to do it. So just go for it, maybe you’ll get those certs after all.

We are planning to stay at the Park Hyatt Toronto in June of next year. I will either transfer 60,000 UR points to Hyatt (15,000 a night) or apply for the Hyatt card so then I only need 30,000 Hyatt points for a 4 night stay. I will book my flights using MR points and transfer to Air Canada.

@Natasha That sounds like fun! Honestly, I wouldn’t hesitate applying for Hyatt card in order to save 30,000 UR points. I speculatively value that amount at around $375. Of course, there is $75 annual fee, but you do get 5,000 points for adding an authorized user, which pretty much offsets it.

Yep, looks like I won’t be able to use certificates on a reservation already made (if I even get the certificates). Oh, well. Would’ve been nice. I doubt he will want to cancel and re-book. Since it was through work and is for a conference, he had to book a certain way and it was the last room in that block available. He was able to apply his Hyatt passport number so we get credit for the stay, but it’s not a regular booking.

How long does it take to hear back from M Life if they status matched you? I emailed them my info yesterday since I have Hyatt Platinum, and haven’t heard back yet. Those pictures of Park Hyatt Sydney are lovely – so jealous. As far as transferring UR points to Hyatt, if people have Chase Sapphire Reserve, they should check the travel portal first. I found several Hyatts that I was planning to visit for less points – I’m all about saving UR points right now since I’m trying to make them stretch into maybe 2 vacations. I know I may not be able to use my Hyatt status with Chase Travel Portal stays, but with the new World Hyatt changes, I’m not sure I’ll have much of any status 🙁

@Stephanie If I remember correctly, it took a few days to hear back from M Life. You may want to call this number and check on it: (800) 323-7249
You are right, it’s always good to check UR Travel portal rates to what loyalty programs charge via points. CSR became a game-changer with its 1.5 cents per point on travel redemptions. In the case of Sydney Park Hyatt transferring points to Hyatt was a better deal since rates go for $1,000. Plus, with Guest of Honor perk, my reader was guaranteed all the Diamond benefits. And that was part of the appeal.

My wife and I stayed at the Park Hyatt Sydney for three nights last October for our 29th wedding anniversary. We transferred over 60k UR points from a CSP signup bonus and I bought the necessary Hyatt points to get my account to 90k which paid for three nights. We loved this hotel. It is worth it.

@Harv I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree. It does seem worth it. I would love to splurge on this place one of these days. It’s nice to treat yourself now and again. Not every stay has to be in a Holiday Inn Express! 🙂

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